Official Synopsis
When Scrat’s acorn antics cause a cataclysmic crack-up, Manny (Romano), Sid (Leguizamo) and Diego (Leary) go where no herd has gone before — on a high-seas quest aboard a floating iceberg. But a menagerie of misfit pirates are determined to shiver their timbers and capsize their journey home.
Honestly, this is the first Ice Age film I enjoyed. The pacing for this one doesn’t seem to drag as much as the other three. The action begins fast and furious with Scrat’s misplacement of his acorn, causing a split in the land, which equals the beginning of the continental divide. This, in turn, separates Manny, Sid and Diego from their respective homes and family. The trio (plus one crazy grandmother) have to find a way back to their friends and family. These moments are pretty darn instantaneous for the film, which is great. One of the bigger problems with the previous Ice Age films is that they take so long to develop. The fourth film just has moment after moment. The pacing is far better with this film.
The beef of the film involves the gang dealing with pirates on the high-seas. The group gets boarded and taken over by a monkey named Captain Gutt (played by the very talented Peter Dinklage). They are forced to be a part of the crew or get thrown overboard. Wanting to see their family, they cooperate long enough to devise a plan to take over the ship that took them over (which doesn’t go as planned), then somehow make their way back to their friends and family.
It’s a pretty simple story that keeps moving at a fast-pace, which is unusual for this movie series. The talents of Ray Ramano, Dennis Leary, John Leguizamo, Nick Frost and Peter Dinklage keep it all going, though their wit is depended on less with Continental Drift. One mistake that previous movies made is that they felt the need to develop every new character, which took up gobs of time in the story, thus making it slightly unbalanced with content. This series needed this type of film, which should have come two films ago. Regardless, it’s not too late for more movies like this in future renditions of the series. It proves that the series still has life, although I’m not sure what other problems can be created through Scrat’s acorn. Hopefully, it’s not the extinction of the wooly mammoth.
For those of you who didn’t find much in the last film, check this one out. It’s got more story, more pace and fantastic talent. Definitely worth a go with the kiddos in the household.
As for the Blu-ray quality, despite the film a 2.40:1 ratio (black bars, yuck!), it looks superb in HD. As with most animated films in the Blu-ray era, you get very rich colors, no imperfections and strong animation. 20th Century Fox has managed to keep the animation improved, though still looking like the previous films. You can tell through the texture of the fur, especially with Leary’s sabertooth character, that techniques have been improved upon. The studio is wise enough not to make this better looking than the previous in hindsight. Regardless, expect the same HD quality as you got with the previous movies.
Finally, and the real selling point of the Blu-ray, are the special features. Here’s what you are looking at:
– Party with a Pirate! Mode
– Sign Along Mode
– Through a Pirate’s Spyglass: Voices Ahoy and Capturing the Crew
– Granny and the Stink of the Sloths
– Scrat Got Your Tongue?
– Whale of a Tale: Drifts, Rifts, Beasties and Myths
– Shimmy Shake Music Section
Gutt’s Sing-Along Shanty Shimmy Shake
“We Are” Extended Music Video
“Chasing the Sun” by The Wanted Music Video
“The Sid Shuffle” Dance Along
– Deleted Scenes
Dr. Granny
Shell Game
– Ice Age: The Story So Far
– Original Theatrical Trailers
The Scratist
As you can see, there is plenty for the young ones in the household. Solid material, though I’m not a huge fan of music videos (even for kids). All in all, there’s enough here to keep kids and adults occupied well after the film has finished.